tvashtarkatena

GGK: the GOP's next PR Czar. Tact, commitment to the cause, and a honey tongue, all in one height/weight proportional package.

Seems like if many would love the see the current system changed, there might be at least one reason to circumvent it. Just sayin.

I'm planning a scale model of the solar system to be installed on our (Seattle) street this year. It will be scaled such that the sun is 2 inches in diameter. At that scale: A highly motivated snail would travel at one quarter the speed of light. Earth would be 18 feet away. Neptune, the furthest major planet, would be a city block away. Interstellar space would begin about 2 blocks away. Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbor (1/4 inch in diameter at that scale) would be as far away as Grand Junction, CO. The Milky Way would still be 21 million miles across. The Andromeda Galaxy would still be well beyond the orbit of Jupiter. The furthest galaxies we can image would still be over 300 times the radius of our solar system away.

Mitt also falls into that category. Huntsman was the only modern hominid in the GOP line up, but he never made it off the bench. You can only spin bullshit so fast before it winds up all over you. And yes, that is a T-Vash original.

3 words: People Hate Pricks.

I also put in a letter to VA gov McDonnell urging him to sign their drone bill - which will be the first in the nation if passed (it sailed through the legislature, but the gov loves his toys): VA drone bill first in nation It's all about raising the kind of public awareness that can focus lawmakers on the issue. It's inevitable that Robocop is on the horizon (you can buy your own video and auto hovering 4 rotor drone for about $600 these days), so it's best that we regulate robot law enforcement and surveillance earlier than later. If not, I'm going to market Ivan-style helmet graphics on the top of round-the-town hoodies. After Skynet becomes self aware, of course, all this will be moot.

The bills dead this time around. Boeing's lobbyists prevailed this round. We'll get there. Public awareness on the use of drones withing the US has just started to accelerate.

The first lesson to know about big wall climbing is this: Your asshole isn't where you think it is. Once you've fully grokked that you can poo anywhere with impunity.

Dan Helmsadter: quietly awesome.

My experience: my second marathon was 20 minutes faster and my recovery time was cut in half. I ran it 5 seconds per mile faster than my fastest predicted time based on training results by striking up a conversation with a guy who was, well, 5 seconds per mile faster than I (thought I) was for about 20 miles. I also used my arms more for the final 6 hilly miles (the first twenty were relatively flat), which helped me maintain that pace at the end and probably saved my legs a bit. Basically, I relaxed and enjoyed the race more than the first time. I think you'll be just fine.

LOL

Now that our wars are ending and budget cuts are here, military contractors need to find new business. Guess where? Government use of drones should be strictly regulated to protect our privacy. Send a message: Petition to pass drone regulation to VA governor Bob McDonnel WA has its own drone bill, HB 1771, which provides oversight over their use by police and government agencies. This does not regulate private (recreational) drones. Boeing is vigorously trying to kill it. A call to these representatives ASAP would help push it over the fence: Frank Chopp – (360) 786-7920 Patrick Sullivan – (360) 786-7858 Eric Pettigrew - (360) 786-7838 Cheers!

We neither govern nor control what happens elsewhere. We have no legitimate entitlement to power in that way. It's called the rule of law. Most of the time when we try, we fuck things up more. That's not to say that the international community shoudln't have intervened in Rwanda, or that we weren't too late in doing so (it did happen pretty fast, however). But we've got 300 M folks here that we DO govern. I think we should do the best job of it we can, no? It's hardly ever about resource constraints anyway. It's about human belief systems and the decisions, good or bad, they produce. Stating that our problems are not as big as Rwanda and therefore not worthy of our attention is paralysis. No, its not a parental situation. It's a values situation. We've got a decent blueprint - we just need keep trying to put some action behind it to give it meaning. It's not about rules - its about giving a shit.

SAN FRANCISCO COCK SUCKAH!!!!!

We've just bailed from two lost wars - a trillion fucking dollars worth of fail, so we can lick our gaping economic and social wounds and you're telling us we should be paying more attention to what's going on in other countries? Do you live in a giant Ziplock or something? I guess it's not a problem if you're not the one (tens of thousands a year, actually) with a bullet in them. Cuz we're scoring last in that class by about 3x. We're Americans - we're supposed to win the fucking trophy n shit. I think we can do better.

The sad thing is, most (responsible!!!) gun owners actually support the kinds of reform (background checks, magazine limits) being proposed. The moneyed few versus the rest. An American Tradition. Fortunately, gun ownership in Merka is on the decline - which is why the gun makers are freaking out in the first place. SELL THAT SHIT.

More CB: Nocera's column on guns What totalitarian measures are the OR legislators proposing, you ask? Mandatory background checks and a 10 round cap on magazines. TYRRANY.

WUT R U SUGGESTING MORAN????!!!!!!

Let's see... The US has 3+ times more gun deaths per capita than any Euro country, about the same as Colombia? No? Ok, let's see... Americans own 40% of the worlds private guns, but constitute only 5% of its population? Oh wait, that's actually a good thing for folks in the business of selling guns. Shooting a congresswoman? No, that was a 'people, not a gun' problem. How about 20 kindergartners? Nup, serves em right for not being armed... I must be too entrenched in my beliefs to come up anything convincing enough. Maybe I should switch to an evidence based system.

Move over Newt - new smartest moran in the room comin' through!

Proof positive that you can't teach a new dog new tricks, either. And Mitt: how can we miss you if you won't go away?

There must be an as yet undiscovered 'gun center' in the American brain - one that shuts down the frontal lobe whenever anyone suggests that we might have a wee bit of a gun violence problem. Confusion as to what we should do about it is entirely intentional. Thanks RNC, NRA, and FOX! Now get on back to trashing Gabby Gifford's husband for demonstrating how just about anyone can buy an AR-15. I guess being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, an astronaut, and incredibly devoted husband doesn't carry as much weight as it used to in some circles.

I'm interested in one of those Avocets. I've found the Sunnto's, given their propensity of their wristbands for undoing themselves, are expensive disposables.

The logic of trying to identify and sanction everyone who's going to become violent before it happens as opposed to simply treating gun ownership more like car ownership, something we've long known exactly how to do, utterly escapes me.

Why not get rid of the people?